Pakistan's elite loses faith in its own country, bureaucrats flee to foreign havens | Gravitas

As Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir consolidates his power in the hybrid regime, resentment is no longer limited to political opponents and citizens.

Even the ruling elite is increasingly losing faith in the country and fleeing abroad.

Now, this is not a stray allegation but emanates from none other than Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who is currently serving his seventh term as a member of parliament.

He flagged that many top Pakistani bureaucrats have settled in Canada, U.S., UK and Europe, with Portugal being the main destination of exodus in the last few years.

Crucially, he claimed that they prepared to flee abroad during service.

Asif added, "This raises questions about their commitment to their homeland and their jobs during their tenure."

The veteran politician also alleged that an individual who facilitated permanent residency arrangements in foreign countries had fled after collecting a lot of money from influential bureaucrats.

However, he did not provide details or identify anyone involved.

In August last year as well, Asif had stirred a row after alleging that more than 50% of bureaucrats had purchased real estate in Portugal using black money.

Additionally, he accused them of transferring billions of dollars to Portugal and seeking citizenship as part of a discrete escape plan.

Now, the alleged exodus comes at a time when Islamabad has been struggling on the economic, security and political front.

Amid Munir's farcical attempt to project his country as a military power and peacemaker, the country has been gripped by a number of crises.

For instance, Pakistan revised its GDP growth downward to 3.65% for fiscal year 2026.

This correction came after its economic growth nosedived to 2% in the April to June quarter as compared to 4.4% in the previous quarter.

The debt-trapped country is still awaiting the approval of a 1.2 billion U.S. dollar loan from IMF's executive board.

Also, its short-term inflation rose by 11.38% last week, driven by an increase in prices of 23 essential commodities, including wheat flour, chicken and eggs.

This is not all.

According to the World Bank, Pakistan alone accounts for 48% of the people earning less than 3 U.S. dollars per day in the region comprising West Asia, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It attributed rising poverty to high inflation, currency depreciation, weakened household incomes and less job opportunities.

As far as internal security is concerned, Pakistan has been in shambles.

Insurgents have mounted multiple attacks on Pak security forces in Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Balochistan.

This year, there have been over 1,200 terrorism-related incidents across Pakistan so far, in which 738 civilians and nearly 1,100 security personnel have been killed.

Even as ex-PM Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023, Munir's brutal crackdown on his party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – continues.

After the party decided to embark on a long march towards Islamabad seeking Khan's release, the government dismissed the PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11 and imposed an emergency and governor's rule in the province.

The government attributed this decision to rising terror attacks and failure of the provincial government to control militancy. However, critics questioned why similar action was not taken in Balochistan, where the security situation is even worse.

Since October 11, former KP CM Sohail Afridi remains missing after being detained and taken to an unknown location.

In wake of these factors, Khawaja Asif's allegations raise a key question.

Are those in power prepared to live with the consequences of the crises, or are some preparing an escape route.